… Nope, Can’t walk anymore. Need to sit. It’s safe to rest here, right?


    [Perhaps,] [or perhaps not.]


    How useful you are. Goodnight.


    [It is currently one in the afternoon.]


    [It is certainly a unique skill to be able to half-sleep the way you did, but this is not the place to do so,] [Remember: you are far from being out of the woods. For the time being, go further inland, observe your surroundings, and then search for essential survival supplies should immediate departure from this landmass be impossible.]


    I was just going to do that, Where, exactly, am I though?


    <hr>


    <div>


    The air grew heavy with the scent of exotic blooms as she entered a dense forest past the beach. She’d lived her entire life in a desert town, so she knew what ‘forests’ were… and that was about the extent of what she knew. Compared to the palms in her town, the trees here were giant


    Are those nuts?


    [Those are fruits.]


    Fruits?


    [Sweet and fleshy products that are typically grown from a plant or a tree.]


    Edible?


    [Please refrain.]


    That thing! What’s that weird plant called?


    [A pitcher plant. Its cavity contains digestive fluids that it uses to drown and dissolve insects that fly in.]


    And those massive white lumps growing on the trees? They look edible!


    [Please refrain. Those are some sort of fungi. They are typically symbiont organisms that play essential roles in the decomposition of organic matter.]


    And the soil changes colours when I step on it? How does that work?


    [That… I am unsure of.]


    You don’t seem very sure of anything. What’s the point of telling me to look around and observe my surroundings when you can’t tell me what I’m being surrounded by?


    [The reward for doing so is updating my navigation data, which would allow me to identify this landmass by identifying the flora on it, thus allowing me to construct a proper plan of departure for you,] [However, this landmass is… peculiar. I cannot identify a single flora around you. None of them match any known records in my database.]


    … So, I’m the first to ever come to this island?


    [You are the first to ever see these oversized flora,] [You see, ‘fruits’ are not typically two metres tall. You can usually fit them in the palm of your hand. Likewise, water pitchers are usually the size of your forearm, but here they are large enough for you to fall into it. The colossal trees, the branching vines and roots, and the iridescent soil that changes colour whenever you put your weight on it… it is as though you have stepped foot onto a giant’s domain where everything around you is ten times their usual size.”


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    never


    It’s not dangerous though, right? Honestly, I feel pretty safe here. The roots are so smooth and swirly that I can probably skate away on them if something jumps out at me.


    [Even still, I would implore you to not let your guard down until I am able to identify this landmass,] [Your first objective should be to reach the other side of this landmass. If I can approximate its size, I can cross-reference preexisting navigation data to see just where we might be marooned. The ideal scenario is getting noticed by a passing vessel willing to carry you the rest of the way to the Whirlpool City. If that is not possible, you must be prepared to skate there yourself.]


    dozen


    [... It is doubtful that you can survive the next few days without fresh food,] [Mutating your Striding Glaives forced a lot of energy from you, so you must eat. See that particularly garish fruit growing out from that shallow wellspring?]


    What is it?


    [It bears resemblance to white pears grown in the northern end of the continent. I surmise there is a ten percent chance of facing a painful, gruesome death even if you consume it in small bites.]


    Hey.


    [There is a ninety percent chance that the fruit will remind you of your mother’s pita bread.]


    That’s more like it.


    needed


    fresh


    … Well.


    [Well.]


    The water was nice.


    [I concur.]


    But the fruit was barely filling. It’s like I ate nothing at all–


    <div>


    … What?


    [What?]


    It says I got… I got–


    [You obtained attribute points from eating that fruit?] [I do not understand this landmass. Only insect flesh can provide attribute points via conversion of Hexichor. Unless what you ate was–]


    You heard that, Archive?


    [Your ears are my ears.]


    There’s people on the island!


    [So you must be wary,] [I do not know what is going on with this landmass, but it is clearly of unnatural origin. For all we know–]


    should


    could


    Snap!


    …


    [... Hm.]


    [I see.]


    [Please begin running now.]


    <div>


    [Objective #3: Identify the landmass and search for essential survival supplies]</s>